


Affirmation

by thelocalmaniac



Series: Lucio Is Smitten [5]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Abstract, Canon Compliant, Fluff and Angst, Freeform, Gender Nonconforming Apprentice, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Lucio has a single thought, Other, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Reflection, They/Them/Theirs Pronouns, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21878041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelocalmaniac/pseuds/thelocalmaniac
Summary: They had stayed.They had been willing to give up their body for him, their memories for him, their magic.They had learned that they had died of the plague because of him, and they were still here.They knew everything, every horrible thing he had ever done, and they had faced the Devil for him, with him.
Relationships: Apprentice & Lucio (The Arcana), Apprentice/Lucio (The Arcana)
Series: Lucio Is Smitten [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1520888
Comments: 1
Kudos: 62





	Affirmation

**Author's Note:**

> The Arcana and its characters are not mine.  
> My interpretation of the Apprentice, Elodie, is the only thing that belongs to me.

_Fucking_ finally. 

He had needed this for so long. To touch and be touched. To want and be wanted. 

They were the only one who listened, who looked for him, who seemed to give a _damn._ And while Lucio’s initial regards for Elodie stemmed from gratitude, these feelings shifted to respect, to... _affection_. He had been alone for so long; his game was a little rusty. Lucio wasn’t sure if they were entertaining his ramblings because they were, quite literally, required to by blood oath or because they were attracted to him. 

Because of that, when Elodie kissed him, it took everything in him not to yank them closer. 

And while it _had_ been a while, he was sure his memory wasn’t playing tricks on him. Kisses didn’t always feel this good. So warm and mind numbingly intoxicating that he could lose himself forever. Elodie’s hands trailed over his jaw, his shoulders, down his chest, always finding something new to hold. 

His body felt engulfed in desire, warm from head to toe even amidst the biting wind and layers of snow beneath his feet. 

He knew they were magic, but _hell_. A kiss like that could make a man fall in love. 

_Careful_ _, Lucio_ _._

\-- 

_They’re not coming_. 

It had been...days? Months? Years? He couldn’t tell anymore. 

The Devil had hurt him, ruined him, and then dumped him here. He had taken Lucio from Elodie, and now all he could do was wait. He had tried to find his way out of the snow, tried to find the door, but there was nothing, there was _no one_. 

He was laying in the snow. It had been so long, the Devil must have _found_ Elodie, must have stolen the breath from their lungs. Or maybe he would keep them as a pet or souvenir. 

_I_ _have to_ _find them._

But he couldn’t get out. 

Was he laying in the snow? How long had they been there? The snow was burying him, but he couldn’t bring himself to move. He had cried himself out, he was absolutely numb, he could not bring himself to care. Nobody came to find him in his wing in Vesuvia, why would they come for him here? Who would look for him? Maybe they would look for Elodie, but not him. Historically, not him. 

If not them, if not Elodie, then who would come for him? 

“Lucio?” 

It’s not real. 

Something kicked him, sharp and painful, and he grunted. “Oof! Ow, ow, ow....” 

Elodie’s face popped into view, and his eyes flooded with tears. 

“...Elodie? Is th-that...you?” Then he was in their arms, knocking them back, sobbing out nonsense about how he knew they would come to rescue him, why did it take so long, how lonely he was, how nobody loved him, and all the while they held him tightly, carding their fingers through his hair, pressing featherlight kisses to the crown of his head. Lucio was trembling, still frozen, and he hugged their small frame even more tightly. _Not real. Can’t be real._ “And it’s not just my imagination? It’s really you?” 

_What if they were fake, like the others?_

_How could they know?_

They responded, and he said something, but he couldn’t even process what. “What if I never get out of here? What if you’re stuck as well?” His breathing came out in short, sharp bursts, heart in his throat, hammering in his ears-- 

And then there was warmth. 

And he was at peace. 

“Ohh...warm. This is...warm.” Lucio was smiling now, but he pressed into their shoulder, working through the rest of his tears. His shivers slowed and ebbed away. They continued to rub his arms and kiss him until he melted into their embrace. “ _You’re so warm._ I’d forgotten what it was like, being warm.” 

\-- 

They had stayed. 

They had been willing to give up their body for him, their memories for him, their magic. 

They had learned that they had died of the plague because of _him_ , and they were still here. 

They knew everything, every horrible thing he had ever done, and they had faced the Devil for him, _with_ him. 

They let him fuck them, kiss them, drag his mouth along their throat and trust that he would not harm them like he had so many others. The trust is what did it, it made him _sick_ with want. Still, they offered it freely, asking for nothing but his time. 

When Elodie found out what he had done, what he had caused—learned of the stomach-churning deal with the Devil—they had stiffened and then they had cried. Because on some level, they had known. They should have known. Elodie’s friends hated him for a reason. 

In the next breath they had taken his hand in theirs and faced down the Devil, tears in their eyes, cheeks blotchy, nose running. “It doesn’t matter now. You can’t have him.” And they had fought, and bled, and today...today they laid beside him, still sleeping, looking unbearably small and breakable, allowing him to share their bed and their space and their life. 

Lucio didn’t know why. 

\-- 

Elodie was looking at him, warm and worried, lifting an arm slowly so he could track the movement, wiping his tears off his face. He struggled with words. “Did you...were you...?” 

“Did I what?” They tilted their head to the side, green eyes wide. 

Lucio reconsidered, then reconstructed his sentence. “I missed you, Elodie. Did you miss me too?” He studied their freckled face, watched them thinking about his sentence, and their hesitance made his stomach clench. _Of course_ _they didn’t, of course no--_

“Of course I did.” 

“I knew it.” He didn’t. Then he said some dumb shit and Elodie gave them a disbelieving, long-suffering look that made him trail off and look away. Lucio backtracked, unloaded his fears, his tribulations. He thought Elodie would say it was stupid, or shrug them off, like so many others were wont to do. He certainly didn’t expect for them to smile with a gentleness he knew absolutely nothing about. “..thank you for saving me. Again.” 

They were petting his hair, and he leaned into it unthinkingly. “You’re welcome. Again.” They were still smiling. Elodie leaned in and pressed a small, sweet kiss to his lips, and his body hummed with the feeling. And then his mother came, and things were _distinctly_ less cool. 

But Elodie had his back. He knew they would. They always did. 

And if he held their hand on their way out of the Arcana, just to make sure that everything was real, that Elodie was there with him? They didn’t comment on it. For that, he was grateful. 

\-- 

Affirmation. 

He never knew how bad he needed it until he _needed_ it. No party or self-assurance could fill this need, this something that always sunk to the pit of his stomach and filled him with doubt. _They love me!_ _Of course_ _they love me!_ _Noddy_ _loves me, the courtiers love me,_ _Vesuvia_ _loves me!_

And then there would be nights spent alone, not having Nadia or Valerius or some low-class servant girl warming his bed, and he would have second thoughts. 

_…Don’t they?_

These insecurities that’d creep into his consciousness, pecking at his reserve. _Does anybody love you? Does anybody care?_ He couldn’t seem to be rid of them. 

Elodie quite literally savedhim. They promised to help him, they promised they cared, and for the first time it felt genuine _._ They missed him, they liked him, he _mattered_. 

_Tell m_ _e_ _again. Please._ _I have to hear it again._

He just can’t get enough. Every utterance of support, every whisper of encouragement, it slowly began to heal a little of what was broken before. Elodie kissed him and fucked him and held him and gave him these things without him needing to ask. 

And finally, finally,he felt loved. 

\-- 

“I love you.” 

“I mean, duh. Join the club. Everyone does!” He laughed.

“No, Lucio. I’m _in_ love with you.” 

“...Wait. You’re _in love_ with me?” 

This may be a first. 

Yes, he and Noddy were a couple once upon a time, but he can’t ever recall at time where either of them said they loved each other. 

Elodie had done it. They’ve achieved the impossible. They’ve managed to shut up _t_ _he_ Count Lucio. 

His mouth hanged open for a while, as if he’d been dumbstruck and couldn’t shake himself from this little spell Elodie’s words placed on him. 

And then all at once he snaps to life. 

Cocky grin, hair pushed back, one brow arched. “Say that again, slower this time, darling. I’d like to really hear you say it.” He practically purrs when the words leave their lips and a delicious, subtle, blush works its way across his cheeks. 

He rewards each of their admissions with a kiss to anywhere he can reach. _One, two, three…_

So this is what it felt like to love and be loved? He must admit, he’s a fan. 

They’re in love with him. They’re really really in love with him.

 _Gods,_ that feels good.

\-- 

He smoothed a hand across their face, tender in a way he wasn’t used to, and they nuzzled into his palm on instinct alone. But they didn’t wake, and he didn’t try to wake them. Lucio was perfectly content to stay there under the blankets long into the afternoon and watch them, wonder about them. He spent a lot of time wondering how they could have possibly found it in them to want him, to love him. Lucio had hanged men and womxn for less, back in his heyday. That kind of forgiveness was not something he had experienced. 

But he saw it in Elodie every day, saw the way they had reached out to the courtiers after they had prevented the Arcana from merging realms as a gesture of goodwill, watched them welcome Morga to Vesuvia whenever she needed an ally, and even then they had had room in their heart for him. 

“You’re staring.” 

Oh, they were awake. 

“I’m not!” 

“You absolutely are.” Elodie yawned, stretched, then snuggled closer to him. “You need a bath,” they informed him. 

“How dare you,” he muttered, but the bite wasn’t there, even if he was indignant. He was too comfortable to actually get himself worked up. “’S not my fault the baths here aren’t as good as the palace.” 

“Not my fault Nadia banished you. This could’ve been avoided if you had sucked a little less earlier in life.” They tweaked his nose, and he yelped, jerking his head away from their fingers. They laughed. 

He knew they were joking, but even so-- 

“Does it bother you? Not living in Vesuvia?” 

“No. I could have chosen to stay and just picked somebody else, but I wanted you. We’d been through so much together, and leaving you _then_? After everything? That would have been a dumb as fuck thing to do.” Elodie’s answer was immediate, and it made him chuckle, chest feeling lighter. “You worry too much. I wouldn’t be here, next to you in some inn in the middle of nowhere, if I wasn’t sure.” 

Lucio was grinning. “Okay. I—okay.” He wrapped his arm around them, burrowing his face into their hair, before rolling over to look around. “Now, do you know where I put my arm last night?” 

“Oh, honey, I have no fucking idea.” 


End file.
